Want to RSVP, get more details or become a sponsor?

Contact Peter Franzen
at 314-454-6544 or by email at pfranzen@childrenseducationalliance-mo.org

National School Choice Week is right around the corner! From January 22 to January 28, the entire nation gets the opportunity to celebrate – and learn more about – educational choice and high-quality options for our students. Although this is only the second annual National School Choice Week, more than 200 organizations have already signed up to host events ranging from 5K races to information sessions to movie nights. Here at the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri, we have been hard at work planning activities for National School Choice Week. Be sure to check our website in the coming days for details and to learn how you can get involved. We are proud to be part of the education reform movement that is making great opportunities available to students throughout the state and around the nation. Visit the official National School Choice Week website to learn more.

As I sit here on the train heading for Kansas City, I have had the opportunity to read several articles on the state of education in America. The one I have chosen to share today concerns a topic that is all too real for many students across the country. At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, two schools in St.Louis opened by Imagine Schools, Inc. will be shutting their doors. On December 22, the California Charter School Association called for the closing of ten charter schools due to academic underperformance. The article goes on to discuss the need for accountability. The charter school movement is strong throughout the nation, with new and innovative schools popping up all the time. The time is now for parents and teachers to say we will not accept anything less than the very best education options. Regardless of the school type, if you’re not educating our kids at a high level, it’s time for you to find something else to do. For too long people have been misinformed and manipulated into believing shiny lights and bells and whistles make a great school. Who cares if you have the biggest library if the kids in the school can’t read? I again encourage parents, grandparents and anyone who has a vested interst in the success of our youth, academically and beyond: Do some research; go visit a school. And then share what you’ve learned with a neighbor or other community member. It could be your insight that makes the difference.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a town hall meeting concerning the state of the Kansas City Public Schools. This meeting was the final in a series of four town hall meetings held in response to the pending loss of accreditation on January 1, 2012. The meeting was held by the District Advisory Committee’s Parent Advocacy Task Force. The presentation, which can be found on the group’s website at www.kcmodistrictadvisory.com, included data from the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education and spurred intense conversation about the future of the Kansas City Schools. I could go on and on about the logistical discussions, but more important than those were the people who came out. The crowd was diverse in every sense of the word. Attendees included teachers, union members, parents, grandparents and concerned community members. They shared stories during breakout sessions. Many of those in attendance were once students in the district and spoke both fondly and sadly of the school system that they knew so well. I spoke to a teacher who, upon learning that I was from St. Louis, discussed with me the similarities between the two districts. She was quite knowledgeable about our district and even had some thoughts on schools outside the Kansas City and St. Louis Public Schools. In my next breakout group, we discussed the high poverty rate of the students in the Kansas City School District and how their specific needs were (or were not) being met. I reminded the group that we don’t have to end poverty to educate our kids; we need to educate our kids to end poverty. The best part of the day came after the meeting was over. I had the chance to speak one-on-one with a couple of parents. Once I had explained why I traveled all the way from St. Louis for a meeting in Kansas City, one mom explained to me her distress about the system and how she understands the importance of high quality education options for her kids. She went on to share that she grew up in poverty and, had it not been for a teacher who cared, she would not have gone on to college. The mom also told me she is considering moving to the East Coast if she cannot find a quality education option for her child. There is no doubt in my mind that this trip was not in vain. I know there are informed and engaged people who want nothing but the best education for the students of Kansas City.

Four new charter schools opened this school year are providing parents with more educational options for their children.  The four schools are South City Prep, Jamaa Learning Center, Preclarus Mastery Academy, and Better Learning Communities all of which received the Mayor’s endorsement.

Better Learning Communities (BLC) was featured in a story on KWMU this week in which the station reports BLC is showing early signs of success with its literacy-based approach to learning.  Sponsored by the University of Missouri – Columbia, BLC is using a reading program called “leveled readers” published by Pioneer Valley Books.

According the story on KWMU.com, early signs of success include children engaged in learning who showcase their enhanced abilities in the home and steady progress working through the program’s reading levels.

The “apples to apples” comparison can begin next year when BLC adds a third grade for its current group of second graders.  The Missouri Assessment Program (MAP test) begins with the third grade and is administered in both traditional public schools and (also public) charter schools.

Read the KWMU story about Better Learning Communities here.

The concept of charter schools emerged in the 90’s as a way to put new educational methods and models into practice without the bureaucracy of the traditional public school system.  It sounds like a great idea, a more nimble and responsive environment for educating children.

Since then, around the country charter schools opened in some of the most challenged and under-performing districts, eventually including St. Louis and Kansas City.  A major problem however with Missouri charter school law is that there is no guidance for what to do with under-performing charter schools.  How much time should we give a new school to demonstrate that it can deliver a more effective model for educating children.

Case in point, Imagine Schools, Inc. is a national education management company operating charter schools around the country including six in St. Louis.  All six of the Imagine schools are performing worse than the St. Louis Public Schools on the Missouri Assessment Program test.  Far worse.

A few months ago Mayor Fancis Slay called for the local sponsor, Missouri Baptist University, to close the Imagine schools.  The mayor has no authority to close the schools on his own and it is unclear if the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has authority either.

Today, both the St. Louis Beacon and the Post Dispatch reported that Missouri Baptist University is planning to close the two Imagine schools deemed to be in the worst shape and has put the remaining four on notice that their charters will also be revoked if the schools are unable to make progress.

That’s a step in the right direction when it comes to high quality educational options because a choice between a low performing neighborhood public school and a low performing charter school isn’t much of choice at all.

Here’s the link to the Post Dispatch story by Elisa Crouch.

The Beacon’s Dale Singer also reported on the situation today.

I was disgusted the other day when the whole state of Missouri fixed its attention on Albert Pujols’ decision to leave the Saint Louis Cardinals. I was disgusted because at the same the twitterverse, ESPN, StLToday.com, and a dozen or more other media were focused on Albert’s decision, I was focused on the fact that Missouri Statutes still require indefinite contracts and Last In First Out policies for Missouri’s teachers.

I realized that while Missouri was busy discussing the difference between Albert’s $254 million contract with the Angels and whatever the Cardinals offered him, our highest quality teachers don’t get to negotiate a higher salary as an incentive to go to and remain in a high needs school (much like Albert did with the Angels).

I also felt my blood pressure rising when Albert’s decision reminded me of the unfair hiring practices in our public schools. Not only do our schools’ leaders not get to say how much they are going to pay a teacher, they don’t even get to choose who their teachers are. While Albert’s agents and the team managers were busily negotiating his new contract, many of Missouri’s students were sitting in classrooms where the antiquated last in first out policies had left them with an inferior teacher. (Learn more about Last In First Out here)

I hope that after reading this, you too think that the fact we put more stock in the quality of our baseball players than we do in the quality of our teacher is unacceptable and will act on it by signing up here to learn how to help CEAM educate all Missourians about fixing this broken system.

Oh, and for the record, I, like most people, am sorry to see Albert leave for Anaheim, but wish him well on the next phase of his career.

Most of the attention the issue of education gets in Missouri is focused on Saint Louis and Kansas City Public Schools.  However, it is also important to note that students in other districts are struggling to access a high quality education as well. Therefore, when I came across this article, I thought it was important to share the struggles as well as some of the innovative solutions being proposed. I was most impressed by the willingness of the administration in the Mehlville school district to identify the problem and think outside the box to ensure that students are ready for high school. I can’t wait to see the results.

On a very cold and rainy Thursday, November 3, people from around the Metro area gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking for the new, expanded City Garden Montessori Charter School in the Botanical Heights Neighborhood. I was fortunate enough to be there. The energy and the excitement was nothing short of amazing, even with the unseasonably cold, wet weather, hundreds of people were there to listen to local dignitaries and to take tours of the new facility which is still under construction. This is what local dignitaries had to say.

While the groundbreaking itself was inspirational, the real work and fortitude were on display when the community, board of directors and school staff came together to fulfill the communities dream of having a great school for the children in Shaw and Forest Park South East.

“As the highest–performing charter school in St. Louis, and a track record of excellence and innovation, City Garden Montessori is proud to have grown from the connections between parents and community members seeking better educational experiences for St. Louis City children,” says Christie Huck, Executive Director of City Garden. “With the permanence of our new home, we will continue to envision more programming, more services, more community building, more award-winning education.”

“City Garden Montessori’s demonstrated success in student achievement can be traced to its grass-roots, community-driven culture of collaboration and accountability,” says Steve Sanchez, Saint Louis University’s Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and director of the University’s charter school sponsorship program.  “As the school’s sponsor, we’ve witnessed the dramatic educational impact of parents, teachers, administrators, and board members working together to advance only one agenda:  student learning.”

“I’ve long been a supporter of quality charter schools,” says Mayor Francis G. Slay. “City Garden Montessori has already created a community of dedicated educators and parents to help our City’s children achieve success. Now, with its new building, this school community will continue to serve our City’s children by giving them a quality education in a nurturing environment.”

When I talk with people about the nature of our work and the need to reform the way we educate our children in America, people often assume we are talking about a problem confined to the poorest communities in the urban core.  Why shouldn’t they?  Most of what we hear about failing schools reinforces that idea.

However research findings released this week in Education Next by noted education reform scholar Jay Greene and his co-author, Josh McGee, take a broader look at American education in a way that should make us all take notice.  Their Global Report Card on education places the United States solidly in the middle of the pack when compared to other developed countries in the story called “When the Best is Mediocre.”

Greene is known for his book Education Myths in which he calls into a question a number of commonly held beliefs about education in America.  For example, in his book Greene points out that while education spending has at least doubled in the last 40 years, student performance has flat-lined.  If there is a direct correlation between spending more money and improved student outcomes, he argues, student performance should also have increased over that same time period.

His latest research should be a wake up call for anyone who understands that today’s marketplace is global.  Looking at 2007 math scores (the latest year for which a broad pool of data was available) Greene found that only 820 out of the 13,636 districts examined had average student achievement that would be among the top third of student performance in other developed countries.  That means that 94% of al U.S. school districts have average math achievement below the 67^th percentile.

There are pockets of excellence as Greene and McGee point out in their research, but overall performance is disappointing by any standard.  Importantly, and to my original point, the issue of poor performance is as real in Beverly Hills as it is in Detroit.

Read the article here: http://educationnext.org/when-the-best-is-mediocre

The thought of someone trying to improve the way a city or state’s educational system is run sounds admirable at best and hopeless at worst. However, there are people from all different walks of life who are trying to do just that, and succeeding. While a failing education system is a crisis effecting the whole country. The people who are most successful are starting on one city block, in one small community. They are testing research and best practices, hiring high quality staff, and achieving results that can be scaled city-wide, state-wide, and nation-wide. This article tells the tale of one such school. The Kauffman Charter School in Kansas City starts with children in fifth grade puts a laser-like focus on one thing, getting them to and through college.  If they are successful, there is no reason these techniques, skills, curriculum, professional development, and passion are replicated in every school in every city in Missouri.

The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri supports informed school choice. We feel strongly that charter schools not only allow parents to choose where their child goes to school, but forces the traditional public schools to reform, or face losing students. There is increasing demand around Missouri and the rest of the nation for high performing schools. Fortunately for parents and students, in many cases, the options parents are turning to are charter schools. But you don’t have to take my word for it, The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools completed this report called Charter Demographics Report that paints a very vivid picture of the demand for and success of charter schools in America.

Chris Geden, Community Outreach Director, Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri

As we here in Missouri wait for the outcome of our own “Parent Trigger” of sorts to play out in the Turner vs. Clayton Case, other states are busy trying to pass or implement a more traditional “Parent Trigger”.

I think Missouri’s education reformers could benefit from following the Parent Trigger and Parent Union stories from around the country. It might help us understand how to harness the power of parents to ensure policies that support kids are getting implemented here. The Parent Trigger started in California in 2010 and has swept to other cities and states around the country such as Texas and Mississippi while twenty other states are considering it. This powerful law allows parents to gather together as one powerful voice and force under-performing schools to take action to improve the quality of education provided to their students. The changes can include closing the school, replacing the teachers and principals and the parents having a say in staffing and budget concerns. The concept behind the parent trigger is really quite simple—the people who have the greatest vested interest in a high quality education (the parents) can use the power of this law, to get a seat at the bargaining table with unions and school officials. This simple concept that gave California and the others a Parent Trigger law is the same one that is driving the advocates and law-makers and most importantly parents who are pushing for the implementation and enforcement of the Revised Missouri Statute 161.137 of the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993. I hope Missourians who care about the future of our state, understand that this groundbreaking opportunity, much like the Parent Trigger in other states, will in the long run benefit the one who matters most….the children. To learn more go here.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Missouri Charter Schools Associations Annual Conference. I was very impressed with the time and effort that went  into planning every detail  from the candy at the registration table to the flawless way they moved 200+ people around from one place to another. The attendee list reads like a Missouri education who’s who list.

The theme of the conference was Advancing Quality Education Because Every Child Can Succeed. While there were several opportunities to learn about charter school quality, sponsors, parent engagement, and advocacy; the topics that I really felt were the clear take away from each session and keynote were accountability and transparency. It was also apparent that these are trying for charter schools. That sentiment was underscored by Douglas Thaman, Executive Director of the Missouri Charter School Association’s speech, which can be read here

I left the conference with the strong sense that the leaders of Missouri’s Public Charter Schools are certainly up to the challenges that lie ahead of them. They are ready to embrace tougher accountability; they understand the need to be transparent with parents, media, and other stakeholders; and above all else they know they can’t give up the fight, because Missouri’s children need them to succeed.

Chris Geden, Community Outreach Director Children Education Alliance of Missouri

I recently attended the a Town Hall Meeting for the South Saint Louis 15th Ward Town Hall meeting. Alderwomen Jennifer Florida and Mayor Slay were there to listen to and respond to the concerns of people in the neighborhood. I go to meetings like this on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes people to try and derail what is supposed to be a an opportunity to have an open dialogue with elected officials and neighborhood leaders. You might expect that people would spend time complaining about trash bins, streets, or even crime, however, at this meeting and most community meetings in St. Louis, the topic that comes up the most is education. The concerns expressed by the constituents were legitimate and well thought out. While everyone had a slightly different take on the education in St. Louis, everyone’s comments boiled down to: “How can our kids be successful and our city move forward with out more high quality options?”.

Mayor Slay was very clear. He said it was unacceptable for anyone to provide anything less than the best possible education for the students of this city. The Mayor spoke for several minutes on the importance of having high quality education options. He also spoke about the Turner Case or the Outstanding Schools Act as it is also known as . The Mayor was crystal clear on the fact that he feels the law, which states if you live in an unaccredited district, you have the right to transfer to a neighboring accredited district at the expense of the failing district. While the meeting ended about eight thirty, several of the attendees had questions for me and the elected officials for another thirty minutes.  Nearly all the conversations after the meeting that I heard were about education. Each time I go to a meeting like this, I am reminded about how serious and real the lack of high quality educational options is to parents in Saint Louis and all over Missouri. I encourage you to attend your next neighborhood meeting, and listen as people share the comments and concerns about the status of education in and around your neighborhood.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the twenty–sixth annual Missouri Legislative Black Caucus, INC. Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The theme of the Conference was Re-Weaving the Fabric of Family and Community to Close the Achievement Gaps for Our Children.

I have been to many conferences in my career. Some have focused on youth and some on community but I had never been to one like this that had a laser like focus on finding a solution to the problem of inadequate education for MO African American children. It goes without saying that right now there is a huge gap between the academic performance of our youth of color and their white counterparts. I have heard this several times over the years and have seen the statistics and the data. I have also seen the disparity in person in my time in schools all over the St. Louis Metro Region.

While talking about race and class is never any easy conversation to have, the reality of the situation is that we must have these conversations. Yes, there will be some discomfort but for the sake of our children we need to all be at the table with viable options for our youth.For this reason, I commend the Missouri Black Caucus for bringing together leaders from all over the state to have the conversation and begin finding solutions.

In an effort to continue this conversation, I am going to share some websites that will highlight just how critical closing the achievement gap really is.

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/gaps/

http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/achievement-gap/

By Chris Geden Community Outreach Director -Childrens Education Alliance of Missouri

Last night, at the Missouri History Museum, there was a round table discussion around the previously screened movie Waiting for Superman. There were about twenty people in attendance and at least twenty different opinions regarding American education and they way to reform it. Actually at times the conversation was so heated and diverse that, it felt like there where two hundred people in the room with differing ideas and perceptions about the state of education.

The crowd was diverse, there were teachers from public, private, and public charter as well as social workers and college students, education reformers, anti-reformers, and just interested citizens in attendance.  The discussion was supposed to be about the movie. However, I have learned that when you talk about education, especially education in failing school districts, everyone’s attention is quickly pulled straight to the real world examples of failure in their own backyard. The group, while having very different opinions and experiences, was able to meet in small groups to have passionate, honest, and at times heated, discussions.

The topics in these small group discussions ranged from teacher tenure, parent involvement, and the achievement gap to the Outstanding Schools Act and school choice. The manner in which people interacted with each other on these hot button issues highlighted the frustration people feel as they try to get their voices heard. I have to admit I got a little agitated when people misrepresented the facts about school choice, teacher tenure, and the Outstanding Schools Act. However, once I was able to sit back and really listen I was able to understand and appreciate that everyone comes at education reform from a different experience and perspectives. I also realized last night that if progress is going to be made, more conversations like last night’s are going to have to happen.

All in all, I found the discussion very gratifying and it was rewarding. Hopefully I was able to give some anti-reformers some things to think about. I would have liked to have seen more people there of course but for what it was a great way to spend a Wednesday evening.

I couldn’t have been any prouder than I was on Tuesday August 2, 2011 of living in St.Louis . I spent some time meeting our neighbors across this city from North city to South city and many places in between while the events were vastly different from neighborhood to neighborhood the message couldn’t have been any clearer we want our streets and communities to be safe havens . Why were all these people out because it was National Night Out.  National Night Out is neighborhood block parties designed to: Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. Studies show that there is a connection with education and the crime rate take a look at this study from California the numbers are amazing .There are many problems in this country but if we take a closer look at the effect it has on our communities maybe education should be at the top of our to do list.

I have been a board member at the City Garden Montesorri school located near Tower Grove park for a little more than six months, but our relationship extends well over two years.  I was reading about the map scores in our area and was pleased to see City Garden with fifty-two percent of all students passing.

I have worked closely with this school and know the time and effort that is put into all things City Garden. The staff  are all top notch educators and are there to teach.  From the very first time I stepped into the school I was impressed with the ease and poise with which administrators, teachers, parents and most importantly students conducted themselves from classrooms to board meetings I as an observer and participant could not be happier with the school and the people involved in the day to day.

Having said all that to ask this question why in the world aren’t we using this model of success across the city or better yet the state? We need to be more deliberate in the way we go about educating our young people . I am quite sure that there is a need and a desire by parents and teachers alike to put into practice what we know already works.  I will include a link to the schools website.

On Saturday, July 23, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board hit the nail on the head when it said:

For St. Louis and Missouri to thrive, support for education must be more than a political slogan. It must be the No. 1 goal of a coalition that includes Mr. Nixon, the Republicans who control the Legislature and the business community that has exerted pressure on those elected officials to call legislators back to Jefferson City.

I applaud the Post-Dispatches editorial board for recognizing there is no greater issue in the state of Missouri than education, and I hope that Missouri’s leaders are listening. (To  read the full editorial, click here).

Dale Singer’s July 19 article, “Second Court Ruling Says Suburban District Must Accept Saint Louis Student” in the Saint Louis Beacon details the law suit filed on behalf of one Saint Louis City resident who wants to enroll in Webster Groves High School because Saint Louis Public Schools is unaccredited. Unfortunately, the article fails to mention that this student already had the right, under current Missouri law, to do so at no cost to her or her family.

The Outstanding Schools Act of 1993, which states clearly and unambiguously that a student residing in an unaccredited school district has the right to enroll in a district in the same or adjoining county, was passed by the Democratic-Led General Assembly and signed into law by then Governor Mel Carnahan.

While I believe that any ruling that helps a child access a better education is a victory and should be told, the real story here is the fact that since 2007, accredited school districts in the Saint Louis region have failed to follow the law and have not been compelled by any state authority to do so.

I am hopeful for King-Willman’s future—as she will likely be able to attend the wildly successful Webster Groves High School. I also believe that any other student with the wherewithal to make it through a year-long court proceeding and is awarded the chance to have a great education; will also have a fabulous chance at success.  However, in order for the children who are in the most desperate need of an improved education to be given a chance at success, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or the Missouri General Assembly will have to mandate that districts implement this law and punish those districts that choose not to do so.

When you mention civil rights, many people immediately think about African Americans and women in our country.  Given a few more moments Hispanics and Gays would also come to mind.

By the time I was born, the Civil Rights Act was already signed and forced integration was underway and the Equal Rights Act was passed a few years later. As I was growing up in Oregon in the late 70’s and 80’s, migrant workers from Mexico and beyond were finally being heard.  In the past two decades progress was made in hate crimes and, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and Defense Of Marriage Act aside, Gay rights have also made progress.  All these efforts were undertaken in the name of equality.

As we move into the second decade of the 21^st Century, one important issue is emerging from the shadows and taking center stage again in the struggle for equal civil rights.  Across the country despite all the time, effort and money that has been poured into our educational system, there remain huge gaps between African American and Caucasian students and between students attending poor districts and their middle class and wealthy counterparts.

It’s not the first time we have grappled with education as a civil right.  The last time, in the middle of the 20^th Century the inequities were as blatant as the racist attitudes that created them.  Today, though, things are less clear.  Well-intentioned people abound, but education is still not improving.  Something is stuck.

And in the 21^st Century version of this struggle the lines are increasingly drawn on class distinction over race distinctions.

I’m not a parent, but I was a child once.

I try to imagine what it would be like to send my child off to a school where I know he is not receiving the same quality education as children attending schools just miles away.  I would feel frustrated knowing that there are some other choices I might make, but also knowing that those choices are extremely limited.  I would want to do right by my child, but not having the resources to send my child to a high quality private school I have to wonder if anyone cares.

That’s what low-income parents face everyday.  Without the resources and without options, they have no choice but to send their children to the mandated public school.

We all accept that a good education is the basis for a successful future, so how can anyone be surprised that the cycle of poverty continues going strong in our country when high quality educational choices are not available to so many people?

By now, you may be aware that St. Louis is once again in the midst of deciding education as a civil right.  Now more than four years old, the Turner v. Clayton case is causing everyone in Missouri, and especially the St. Louis area, to think about what our rights are to a high quality education.

The next court date is set for September as the Turner v. Clayton case continues.  However even now there are resourceful parents trying to send their children to neighboring districts following the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling last fall as part of the Turner case that upheld a heretofore little known Missouri law that states children living in an unaccredited school district can attending a neighboring district at the expense of their home district.

Like so many times before, change will come from crisis.  Without impugning anyone, it is probably fair to say that with everything going on, it has been easy to ignore low-income families who do not have high quality educational choices.  Now, however, Missouri law and two, local unaccredited school districts are forcing the hand.

To give you a refresher on the Turner case, here’s a link to Dale Singer’s story from May 2011 in the St. Louis Beacon.  It’s a good read for background.

Lots of talk, little action on education by Missouri lawmakers

By Dale Singer, Beacon Staff

May 17, 2011

On the first business day after a legislative session that saw a lot of talk but a lot less action on bills concerning Missouri schools, the head of the House education committee found himself in a Washington, Mo., classroom.

After state Rep. Scott Dieckhaus, R-Washington, spent Monday working as a substitute teacher in an industrial technology class — “not exactly my forte,” he said — he took time to talk about the bills that passed, the ones that stalled and the outlook for action next year.

On two of the issues with the highest profile — expanding charter schools beyond St. Louis and Kansas City to throughout the state and coming up with a fix for the “Turner case,” which provides options for students living in unaccredited school districts — Dieckhaus said good ideas were proposed, but various groups couldn’t put aside their differences to come up with an acceptable compromise.

But in Jefferson City, issues often move forward by inches until they cross the finish line, and on charter schools, Dieckhaus (right) wasn’t ready to give this session’s outcome a flunking grade.

“To focus on the bill’s failure is the wrong way to look at it,” he said. “We hadn’t passed a charter bill out of the Missouri House since charters were authorized in the ’90s. It really shows we’re making progress on the issue, and it’s something we could run all the way through the process next year.”

State Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, Dieckhaus’ counterpart in the Senate, noted that two education bills were sent to Gov. Jay Nixon for his signature.

One, SB54, deemed the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, provides greater protection for children who allege sexual abuse by a teacher or other school employee. The other, SB81, bolsters fine arts education.

And he shares the optimistic view that issues that did not make it out of the General Assembly this time around may win final passage in the future.

“We found out some things that would work,” Pearce ( left) said, “and we found out some things that would not work. When it comes to education, people are not bashful. We hear from a lot of folks back home. I have to look at policies that affect everybody, and it’s not an easy task at times.”

CHARTER SCHOOLS

From the start of Missouri’s venture into charter schools — publicly funded schools that operate independently of any district and are not subject to a district’s policies and procedures — they have been allowed only in St. Louis and Kansas City. Going into the legislative session, there was a lot of talk about expanding them statewide.

Coupled with the talk of expansion was a call for more accountability for charters. Some have gone under because of poor financial management, and few have shown markedly better student achievement. The charter bill that got the most attention was HB473, sponsored by Rep. Tishaura Jones, D-St. Louis. It passed in the House in late April, 86-70, but got caught in the crush of legislation at the end of the session and was never brought up for a vote in the Senate.

Pearce said the bill appealed to a lot of people, despite its failure to win final approval.

“There were some things we could all agree on,” he said. “One, there needs to be more accountability with our charter schools. Some have done a fantastic job, others have not been as good. This was a positive step. There probably is some need for some expansion.

“For the most part, in outstate Missouri, this was really a non-issue because they have not had charters, and there’s not really a compelling need for them. Those who are really involved in the educational community have seen some of the problems they have had and say, ‘We really don’t need that.’”

Adds Dieckhaus:

“The bill got over to the Senate side late, but ultimately we had a couple of differing viewpoints as to what needed to be included. We just ran out of time. But I think a lot of legislators who voted ‘no’ this time around are willing to take another look at the issue. I think there’s a fear of the unknown — not necessarily a fear of charter schools but a question of how they would affect individual districts.”

Amber Simpson, head of the board of the Missouri Charter Public School Association, considers the debate “an ongoing exercise. We just need to keep on doing what we’ve been doing and continue to build relationships with stakeholders in the community.”

She, too, cited competition from other bills, like local control of the St. Louis police force, as one reason the charter bill stalled, even though there was more legislative support than backers have seen in the past.

“It’s really working from an educational perspective,” Simpson said, “that we are public schools and we exist because the public is asking for more options.”

Joe Knodell of the Missouri Education Reform Council said he thought some opposition came from teachers unions and others who thought an expansion of charters would take some of their power away. He also sees an element of “the fear of the unknown” in parts of the state, even in regions where charters are unlikely to take root.

“We support charter school expansion statewide,” he said. “But you had people watering it down from what we would have liked to see. We would like to see local districts allowed to form their own charter schools or make their own schools into charter-like schools.”

Knodell said he also saw the expansion of charters as part of the fix for another knotty education problem in Missouri — the Turner case.

UNACCREDITED DISTRICTS, LEGAL REMEDIES

Widespread talk of the Turner case began last summer, when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that students who live in a district whose schools are unaccredited, like St. Louis or Riverview Gardens, have the legal right to transfer to accredited schools in the same or an adjacent county. The sending district must pay the tuition, the court said, and the receiving district must accept the students.

(Read more from the Beacon about the case here.)

But the high court also sent the case back to St. Louis County Circuit Court, where it began with a suit filed by families whose students had transferred to the Clayton school district. There, a judge put off new action until May 31, apparently expecting the legislature to come up with a fix.

Despite a lot of talk about the issue and legislation that was filed as HB763, which would have given receiving districts more discretion on what students would have to be accepted, the bill did not pass.

Its sponsor, state Rep. Rick Stream, R-Kirkwood, said he wanted to make sure that students who live in failing school districts have more options, but he also wanted to give more leeway to the receiving districts. Coming up with an acceptable compromise proved impossible, he said.

Now, Stream (right) added, “we don’t know what’s going to happen. There are different opinions. Some think the court will say that since the legislature didn’t do it, we’re going to crack down and say to students in the city that they’re allowed to go to any county district and the city school district will have to pay for it. That will really hurt county districts.

“Others think the court wasn’t as clear on that as they were on other parts of its ruling, and they think the lower court isn’t as inclined to be that hard on county districts, which aren’t at fault. They may come up with their own solution.”

Knodell’s group pushed for a solution that let students in unaccredited districts transfer to county districts. He said the bill did not fail from a lack of trying.

“I’ll give everybody an ‘A’ for effort,” he said. “We met with several organizations, but we never could come to an agreement about what needs to be done. So it looks like it’s back in the court’s court.”

The state school board, which meets in Jefferson City this week, has no power to act on its own, but Turner is expected to be a topic of discussion. Meanwhile, only two students remain in the Clayton schools from families who were the original plaintiffs. They will remain in the district this fall, said Clayton spokesman Chris Tennill.

“We have a pretty good track record in the three years that this has been going on,” he said, “so that we can work things out that the kids’ education is not impacted by the disagreement that the grownups are having.”

In OPINION SHAPER’s entry by Carl Peterson on 6.5.11, the question is asked, “Is public education dead?”

Mr. Peterson states that Missouri education legislation (since 2002) is “saddled with school choice”, the implication being that choice is a bad thing. As a parent, wouldn’t you think that a choice of educational options was a bad thing? [NOTE: I will not address his comment on vouchers in Missouri as they are unconstitutional in this state.] By now, we know that we all learn differently, which is to say that we do not all learn the same way. So, why do we still cling to an archaic system? The ‘One-size-fits-all traditional public school model?

His opinion is that it’s a bad development that children, who are now trapped in unaccredited school districts, can now cross a border into a neighboring accredited district and attain access to a proper education. Why is this bad? Who is it bad for? It is certainly NOT bad for the children. Should not children be the focus and barometer by which we guide our ship?

I appreciate Mr. Peterson’s concern that we need to improve the schools we have and support them. The argument that the children who do not cross the border, for whatever reason, are left behind and will suffer is worthy of consideration, however, those who avail themselves of an immediate solution will benefit IMMEDIATELY. This is GOOD.

He argues that charter schools are a false hope for at-risk children and that charters do not accept the hardest to teach and the most disruptive. Not true. Some specify exactly these demographics. In fact, the best charter schools in the country rank at the top level as the top traditional schools. Just because not all charters are up to the level they need to be does not mean that we should shut them all down. Instead, we need to hold them accountable to the same standards, as our Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has called for. He also calls for charters to specialize in serving the most under-served: those with learning disabilities and those who are at-risk and who cannot be educated in the traditional public school environment. These are the children Mr. Peterson expresses concern about, rightly so. So, we should learn from examples in other cities and states that have guided at-risk students to academic attainment, in spite of their home environment, their financial disparity, etc.

I challenge his allegation that the real problem is that the charter-school/voucher debate has distracted us all from solving the real problems in education. I would suggest quite the opposite. I suggest that the failure over the last 3 decades, while doubling what we spend, to improve public education brought about the search for alternatives. Among the options discussed, and tested, across the country are not only charter schools and vouchers (though vouchers are unconstitutional in MO), but performance pay, transparency, professional development, virtual learning/education, home-schooling, open enrollment, and of course teacher tenure, to name a few options we have to work with.

Mr. Peterson’s fear that now “…St. Charles County public schools must receive students from unaccredited districts from St. Louis County,” reflects the concerns of other area counties as well: that their schools will be absolutely overflowing with transfer students. This fear fails to take into account the fact that most parents, and their children, would prefer to remain in their own community. We see that in other states when borders were opened for enrollment, there was approximately a 5% transfer (Arkansas). If there are good schools in a neighborhood, the schools will fill their seats. In the meanwhile, let the neighboring schools fill to capacity.

There is no “agenda is to raid the public treasure chest to fund…private schools.” Does Mr. Peterson recognize that the private schools are able to appropriately educate children often for LESS than what we spend on public schools? The cost per child in SLPS is almost double that of its private school counterparts in the same area. The public could actually cut costs by placing children in those schools….but again, vouchers are not constitutional in the state of Missouri…

We would all be better off by embracing those changes that have been vetted and shown success rather than all of us collectively screaming: “Before vouchers and charter schools kill public education, you will have to climb over my bloody, broken body.” I would suggest that solution borders on insanity.

The education debate pivots on the individual right of each child to access appropriate high-quality education.  We, as a people and as a nation set this as a national value and inarguable right.  Regardless of budget cuts, teacher lay-offs and all the other administrative and educational issues, the fact remains that there is a strong correlation between lack of educational attainment and the likelihood of incarceration.  In one state, almost 70% of inmates do not have a high school diploma.

To accomplish our goal of providing each child a high-quality and appropriate education, it is critical to recognize that all children do not excel in typical classroom environments and it is our imperative to provide sufficient options to parents who CEAM believes should be empowered to make the best choice about for their child’s academic future.

Here are a few recent headlines highlighting current efforts at reform in Missouri’s education:

• School districts look to legislature for help on unaccredited districts in Missouri.
• Missouri garners national attention with legislative activity over charter school expansion and governance.

Their well-founded fear is that hundreds, if not thousands, of children from the 2 nearby unaccredited school districts, St. Louis Public Schools and Riverview Gardens, will apply to their schools, and they will have no choice but to accept them.  So, among many solutions available, such as charter school expansion (including virtual charters and charters dedicated to special needs), open enrollment, virtual schooling, scholarship tax credits, to name a few options that could expand choice and parental options in the city and alleviate some of the demand that will assuredly flood the county if the courts uphold the decision, they want to go back and change the law so they are not legally obliged to accept any child outside their districts who applies.  Badda-bing~simple solution, eh?!

What is most concerning is that 10 other St. Louis county districts are facing accreditation problems as well.  Merely fortifying the borders of individual school districts will not improve St. Louis city and county’s development, nor does it improve our state.  Missourians would be best served by ensuring that all children have access to high-quality, appropriate and safe learning opportunities so they can achieve their maximum potential, regardless of zip code, race, socio-economic status and even, and especially, those with disabilities of many varied kinds.

Increasing the quality, quantity and access to appropriate educational environments will raise the tide of Missouri’s children and their futures.  Slamming the doors to access will surely sink the ship.

• Teacher pay for performance in Florida
• Indiana is drawing a line in the sand to see an end to social promotion in the classroom
• Teachers’ union considering sweeping reforms in Wisconsin
• What Tennessee has learned from Florida’s last decade of education reforms; this article refers to a newly released study “Lessons for Tennessee from Florida’s Education Revolution”.  Says Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Foundation for Educational Choice:

“When true reform occurs and parents are given the freedom to choose the education that’s best for their children, students are able to break through every barrier and truly excel.”

Parents just want to see their children reach their full potential.  The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri believes that parents should be empowered with access to the best educational options for their child.  We also believe in parents’ ability, right and obligation to make these decisions, and that in the presence of quality options parents indeed make the best choices for their children.

There has been much discussion of the Turner v. Clayton school district case reviewed by the Missouri Supreme Court last year.  While the judges handed the case back down to a lower court for further review, major discussions about the future viability of St. Louis Public Schools abound.

The decision of the court, as pointed out in “U-Turner: Proven systems to enable school reform are close to home,” states that the law, “in plain language,” does indeed allow those residing in unaccredited school districts in Missouri to attend a school of their choice in the same or an adjoining county.  Therefore, a mass exodus from the SLPS is conceivable if hundreds, or even thousands, of city residents enroll their children in schools outside of the district, calling on their statutory right, and sending the tuition bills to SLPS.

This situation begs the question, how can SLPS improve in the face of budget cut-backs if city residents call upon their statutory rights and simply leave, thus allowing the funding to follow those children to their schools of choice outside of the district?

The possibility exists that through innovative and proven reforms St. Louis Public Schools can offer solutions of school choice within their district and maintain their student population.  School choice options like open enrollment, charter school expansion, improved teacher quality through professional development and forms of merit pay that offer incentives to high-quality teachers to serve the urban core should all be on the table.  Kelvin Adams is already working toward district sponsored charter schools and he is expected to hold them highly accountable for their performance.

St. Louis city needs to aggressively pursue options that will keep students and families together in their community in Saint Louis.  If they do not, they will indeed see an exodus at the crossroad of school choice and the death of their communities.

Ohio, Indianapolis, Washington D.C., and many other states are contributing to what is being referred to by many as an education revolution through charter school expansion and development, professional development, virtual education options, open enrollment and so many more reform measures.  Teachers and administrators struggle to keep up with all the change.  With each success comes greater demand for reform and change.  It is a bit much for some [teachers/administrators] to handle, according to Mike Thomas in “Teacher merit pay: Show me the money!” But he also points out that even during this time of economic cutbacks that Florida has shown an upward trend in academic performance for the last decade they’ve been implementing reforms.  Thomas suggests that our education system could lose many teachers if our economy advances such that the country really increases jobs because of these changes, as they will be enticed by competitive salaries in the business world.  He also suggests that would be an exciting time to enter teaching, provided the profession is truly offered competitive wages in exchange for excellence.

So, what does that say to Missourians?   We must not fear change as it is truly the only constant.  Given we recognize that we must improve our academic attainment and outcomes for Missouri’s children, then change is necessary.  We can learn from the successes of other states who have initiated successful innovations already.  We are also poised to potentially join the leadership of the education reform movement, provided we actually do our home-work and study up.

I wonder how many St. Louisans know someone-a neighbor, a friend, a family member-doing just what this woman did?  This author knows more than one family who has lied about their zip code.  Fortunately,  my zip code is pretty good:  63144 is home to a very good school district and I have two children there.  It’s a good thing too, since I cannot afford the parochial school tuition or another private school option.  From the above referenced posting on MERR:

As Dan Domenech of the American Association of School Administrators told NPR last week, “The correlation between student achievement and Zip code is 100 percent. The quality of education you receive is entirely predictable based on where you live.” And where you live in America today depends largely on income and race.

Just as Rosa Parks refused to move her seat on the bus, Kelley Williams-Bolar would not take the public school offered to her zip code.  Rosa just wanted a ride on the bus.  Ms. Williams-Bolar just wanted her daughter’s to have the same opportunity as those residing in the zip code she lied about.

It’s great that people across our country are asking questions about education and that not only are more exposes and documentaries coming out BUT people are actually watching them.   Missouri legislators watched The Lottery last week.  The Cartel was screened last week in St. Louis, and Waiting for Superman is making the rounds too.  The St. Louis Beacon shares what people are saying about the issues discussed in the movies and how Missouri is impacted.

People should be outraged that an American Mother was jailed for choosing a better life for her kids.  Missouri needs to ensure that quality options exist for all Missouri children, regardless of the family zip code.  We are well past assigning seats in the back of the bus.

“”We listened to some of the problems parents are dealing with,” Slay said, “and across the board, they had two major concerns. They were going through emotional changes after their children had been diagnosed, worrying about their future, and they also were trying to navigate a very complex educational system.”

CEAM’s financial assistance and parent training program will call for applications in April and will grant financial scholarships for tuition and therapies this summer, empowering parents to seek solutions for their special needs children who are not excelling in their current classroom environment.

As noted in the article, it is critical for parents to know their rights and how to advocate for specific individual needs of their child.  Parents, upon learning their child has a diagnoses, must navigate a very complex education system in addition to managing emotional and financial stresses.  CEAM intends to alleviate some of that stress and allow parents to focus on the educational needs of their child through education and training.

There is great demand for this kind of assistance in Missouri.  CEAM is planning benefits in support of this program this spring and we are hearing from the community that we are on the right track.  Please hold the evening of May 6th for our Kentucky Derby Party and pull out your fanciest hat!  The race is on!

KUDOS to the Met schools in New York!

However, not until we, collectively as a nation, determine to make this type of private education accessible to all will we advance all children to reach their maximum potential.  That, after all, is pretty much what any parent wants for their children.  Our federal laws guarantee the right of all individuals a quality education, but as a nation, we struggle to meet this obligation.  When we do not, we damn those we fail to a lifetime of dependence that we, as taxpayers, will support.

So, if you do not care on a personal and moral level, perhaps you might notice the punch from these lifetime costs of services of one individual on the spectrum who could draw between $3 and $5 million (YEP~That’s MILLIONS, folks!).  By intervening early enough and providing access to quality education options to these children and their families, the lifetime costs of care can be reduced by as much as two-thirds.  Now do you care?!

Options to consider that would increase access to appropriate quality education in Missouri are such things as charter school expansion, open enrollment, teacher development and scholarship tax credits, to name a few.

So until we reach the point that we can and do meet the individual needs of all (something we work toward daily here at CEAM), the odds of success favor those parents who learn their rights and responsibilities and learn how to become fierce advocates for their child.   As noted in the article referenced above, that parent who advocates the most, will get the most for their child.  PERIOD.

[Author's note:  please see our innovative new program, launching in spring 2011:  the financial assistance and parent training program; this program will provide direct access to St. Louis area children who are not excelling in their current educational environment and will offer parent trainings to any Missouri parent seeking to become the parent advocate they need to be.]

The situation:  Her child, now in 3d grade, acts out in class, and though the child has been receiving A’s and B’s, she questions the merits of the reporting and fears her child is not learning.  The Mother says she knows her child can learn, but she is quite certain by now that her child has some type of learning disability.

Has this child been advanced socially so the school does not have to address the problem?  IEPs and special education can be costly and very involved.  Perhaps there is nothing nefarious and the disability has simply gone unnoticed, but it finally is catching up?  Is there a disability at all?  And if not, what exactly is the problem?  To continue punishing this child is not working.

The Mother said she requested an evaluation of the child to see if there is a learning disability over 100 days ago and has received no response.

Now, I know as a Mother that 3d grade really advances beyond the basics of the child’s prior school experiences and it is critical that the child have all the basic learning skills under their belt by 3d grade.  So, if those skills were not built, you will really begin to see problems at the 3d grade level.

Again, I must inform her that I am not an advocate.  However, I do know a few things…and a few people, like a special education specialist.  Here is what the expert said:

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Special Education Division

I offered other information as well, already found on our resources page that any parent starting out on the path of specialized education for their child should know,  like “What Every Parent Needs to Know About IEPs” and the US Dept. of Special Ed. IEP Guide.  A law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guarantees the right to a quality education to people with learning disabilities.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.

Most importantly, I encouraged this Mother to educate herself on her rights and to become the very best advocate for her child.  I pointed her to agencies that offer support and advocacy training and I truly hope she will work it with the school.  Then, in case she is not successful with the school, I told her about our financial assistance and parent training program.

I simply cannot wait until our prgram launches this next spring!  Then maybe I’ll know what it’s like to be Superman!!

On Thursday, I returned a call to another Mother in St. Louis city who called about her son.  They (parents) all call because of concerns about their children hoping that when I answer, I will be the one who can finally help them.  They are looking for their own ‘Superman’, just like the one who was noted missing in ‘Waiting for Superman’, the recent Davis Guggenheim documentary on public education being screened across the country, showing now in St. Louis until at least 10/28 (call to see if extended beyond that date).

I am not sure how this woman came upon CEAM and didn’t get the chance to ask.  She has no access to a computer.  Someone must’ve told her about about our financial assistance and parent training program, as I finally realized during this lengthy conversation that this woman was panicked and seeking an alternative that she now does not have.  So, what happened?

There was some kind of ruckus on the playground, preceding this call, involving a group of 16 children.  Though this woman says she has 3 witnesses affirming that her son had nothing to do with it, he has been somehow identified by his school as one of the 16 that is now facing the possibility of expulsion.  She told me her son is 11 year old, has an ADD diagnosis and an IQ of 18.  He also has no history of bad behavior.

When I shared this sad story with special education specialists (no less than 3 of them), they all winced and said either she meant that her son has an IQ of 81 or her son was not properly diagnosed.  She says she has had some parent training, but she was seeking an advocate for her child.  For if he is expelled, what will she be able to do for him?  She also said that the school’s designated representatives do not show up for her son’s IEP meetings.

I was able to make some personal recommendations based on what I know already about who in Missouri provides support, but the fact of the matter is that resources are scarce and one must be trained to advocate in this education bureaucracy.  I am not in a position to provide direct intervention and immediate consult/relief, which is what they all seek.  They are often pretty desperate by the time the calls come in.  They need help now.

All I could do was provide some phone numbers to help them find that superman and put this woman on our list to mail out applications in April when we finally launch our program.  But what about right now?  What about all those kids we will have to turn away because they do not live in the St. Louis metro area or because demand well exceeds our funds?  What about the Mother I met from Hillsboro whose 12 year old daughter with autism is sent to a state school that does not have teachers trained to advance her non-verbal child, nor an appropriate curriculum nor therapeutic services necessary?  Or the child in Union who did not receive a proper diagnosis of autism until he was in 5th grade?  I have not even met that family~a friend told me about this.  The 5th grade boy has a history of having been restrained, drugged and isolated.

I hate that I am not Superman because if I was I could swoop in and save these children by stopping that freight train that is their destiny.  I don’t want to tell anyone that Superman really does not exist.  Choice options like charter schools serving special needs learners, or open enrollment, at least for this demographic, and expanded scholarship funding would benefit these children and their families.  From a long-term perspective, society would benefit financially by advancing children to their fullest potential and independence.

On August 29 I took my children to see a music recital presented by the Lacefield Music Company.  In many ways it was like any other recital, with some participants in the beginning stages of their musical education and others with many hours and years of practice under the belts.  The difference was that every one of the musicians featured that day was on the autism spectrum and ranged in age from 8 to 38.  I was touched and amazed at the talent and commitment of these musicians as well their instructors and music therapists.

Lacefield Music Company has a special commitment to individuals on the Autism spectrum and other disibilties that they state very clearly in their mission statement:

“To provide a place where anyone, Regardless of age or musical experience or ability, could fulfill a lifelong dream of learning to play a musical instrument as well as a place, to purchase top quality instruments, operating with a sense of corporate responsibility placing customer service at the top of its priorities list.”

I had the opportunity to briefly meet Cathy Krubsack, President of Lacefield Music and grandmother to a child with autism.  In 1995 Cathy and her son opened a store in St. Louis that would help them fulfill this mission, offering opportunities for anyone, regardless of ability, to enjoy music and learn how to play an instrument.

Music is and always has been a part of daily life in my household.  My children freely play instruments and break into song at will in our house, in the car, in the grocery store, and sometimes during performances at recitals.  Although I am a music teacher and taught piano for many years we have been looking for a place just like Lacefield to start formal instruction for Ben in piano and voice.  Music opens up many pathways socially and emotionally as well as in language and other areas of development for all children and for some children on the spectrum.  Ben struggles with speech and language, but give him a song that he likes to sing and the words just flow from him.  In fact, Ben has been known to sing a song beginning to end after only having heard it one time.  He has also exhibited an understanding of intervals on the piano in the same manner after hearing a song on television and then going to the piano and playing the melody after finding the first note.  This is pretty amazing considering his struggles with his studies in school.  It is my belief that the investment of time, effort, and money in a music program for Ben will enhance the other areas of study and life for him.

Once soccer has ended this fall we will begin piano and voice lessons and I will keep you posted as to Ben’s progress, unless he decides on a different instrument.  Last week he said he wanted to play a saxophone and this summer he said he wanted to play the fiddle.  It seems that in many ways my kiddo is quite typical and I am sure that at some point drums and/or the electric guitar will appear on his horizon of interest.

Sally Oelzen

[NOTE:  Here is a video of one of the musicians, Darrius Roberts, featured at the Lacefield recital:]

The video discusses the unique characteristics of people with autism~among them: they can be very comfortable with highly methodical processes and because of their attention to detail, they can excel and be highly productive valuable employees~oh, and they have less absenteeism!  The video is inspiring and serves as a great example of how individualized learning can maximize a special needs learner’s full potential and open up their doors to opportunity such that they can reach their maximum independence.  Currently, according to the video, Scotland employs only 13% of the possible talent pool of people with autism.

Check it out:

This is a great example of how America should be preparing for our gifted special needs learners, aka: the ‘twice exceptional’.

How much talent is wasted by failing our children who CAN learn, but not in the traditional ‘one-size-fits’ all methods?  How many parents hearts must break until we realize that we need to do something different?  It is said that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same process expecting different outcomes.  It is time to do things differently.

There are charter schools and private schools that address the ‘twice exceptional’, however you will not find them in Missouri.  If I am mistaken, by all means please point me to them.  Our U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has called for exceptional high-performing charter schools to pave this path to educate the most under-served in America’s education system, and special needs learners are one of his top targets.

We also need to train teachers who will excel at understanding how to reach this special demographic.  It is critical to our community’s future to tap these kids’ potential and is unconscionable to not do so.  Oh, and if none of that matters (and I would argue, of course, that it does), it will be more costly in the long run if we continue to fail our ‘twice exceptional’…

Once SLPS lost its accreditation however, the parents then sued SLPS to pay the Clayton School district’s tuition fees, referring to Missouri Revised Statute 167.131 that requires an unaccredited school district to “pay the tuition of and provide transportation…for each pupil resident therein who attends an accredited school in another district of the same or an adjoining county.”

A critical point to note:  Prior to this case, the law has been interpreted such that a parent had the right to apply to another district once accreditation of the home school is lost, but the law did not require a neighboring district to accept out-of-district applicants.  A school could have empty seats in a classroom and still choose not to accept the students seeking the alternative to the failing district.  So, whereas the law guaranteed the right to access, the law did not guarantee admittance.

When the Saint Louis Public School district lost their accreditation, many parents applied to neighboring districts and were not accepted.  These families, many of whom are living at or below the federal poverty level, have very limited alternatives.  Most cannot afford to move to a better district, pay the tuition of a private school nor another accredited district’s school.

The Missouri Supreme Court decision could have huge impact on how the statute is now implemented.  Though four judges reversed the trial court’s decision, three judges only partially concurred.  The court’s opinion states that the language in Missouri statute 167.131.2 “gives a student the choice of an accredited school to attend, so long as that school is in another district in the same or an adjoining county, and requires the chosen school to accept the pupil.”  The analysis provided in the decision says the statute is “straightforward and unambiguous”.

The outcome of the current Supreme Court case, which is now returning to the lower court for review, remains to be seen.  The plaintiffs involved may not get their previous tuition covered because they enrolled their children under tuition agreements, not calling upon their rights in the Missouri Statute, and they did this prior to the loss of SLPS’ accreditation.

Assuredly, parents of more than 34,000 students in St. Louis City and Riverview Gardens public school districts, as well as thousands of parents in Missouri’s 9 partially accredited districts are encouraged by the Supreme Court’s affirmation of not only the right to apply, but the legal obligation of the neighboring district to accept the out-of-district students.

The key impact that Missourians will be watching as a result of this case is the possibility that the statute may grow some teeth and unaccredited districts may see a big increase in the exodus from their failing schools and they’ll get to foot the bill.  Much depends on the outcome of this case.

School superintendents around the state should consider some important education reform measures that have been successful in other states: state managed scholarship funds that have tax credit advantages for private contributors, open enrollment and charter school expansion. All three of these options would provide options for parents of students who are failing in poor performing, financially strapped school districts. If one thing seems clear, it is that the future of education in our state is on the precipice of some major changes. What is not clear is how willing school districts will be to adapt, and embrace, that change.

National Charter Schools Conference
Chicago, Illinois

Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, addressed the leadership of the National Charter School movement and conference attendees at the 10th annual National Charter School conference recently in Chicago.  CEAM was there.  Arne gave a resounding call to the charter school movement leaders to make wide-spread the acknowledgement of the difference charters can and are making in the lives of the most under-served children in our country.

Here are excerpts from Secretary Duncan’s ’4-Point Plan’ for charter school movement leadership:

Point 1

Create more schools for the most underserved: English-language learners, Special needs students and those who have been expelled.  Then do an extraordinary job of advancing these groups of children.

Point 2

Build stronger relationships at the state and national level with the Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus and Civil Rights Organizations to dispel the perception that charter schools are adversaries.

Point 3

Change the charter school debate by collecting data and generating longitudinal studies, showing proper comparison of children served by charter schools vs. those who sought charter school alternatives, but were not able to gain entry.  He referenced Caroline Hoxby’s break-through study as a model.

Point 4

The charter school movement’s leadership must be courageous and establish criteria below which charter schools should cease to exist and be pro-active in the area of self-governance.  Though the leadership and the community itself does not hold the authority to close down ineffective charters, Secretary Duncan calls upon the family of charter schools to not tolerate unacceptable performance within their family of schools and their authorizers.  He wants a list of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ authorizers, along with minimum criteria for charter school performance and pro-active self-governance.

In closing, Secretary Duncan says to the charter school movement, “Your best are world-class.  Your best give me extraordinary reason for hope for public education in this country.”  Now he strongly urges the movement to step up their role of leadership and let this country know what they stand for.

(Click here to see full article)

Jefferson City, Mo – infoZine – Commissioner of Education Chris L. Nicastro said that she will recommend that the State Board of Education take action in August to formally adopt a new set of “common core” academic standards which were released nationally.

The Common Core State Standards were officially released this morning by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards establish clear and consistent goals for learning that will prepare America’s children for success in college and work.

The community members who attended our holiday party included the Saint Louis mayor, Francis Slay, as well as our superintendent of school, Dr. Kelvin Adams, as well as the CEO of Build-A-Bear workshops, Maxine Clark (who also happens to be our sitting executive of the Teach For America-St. Louis board of directors). They all shared their firm support of what we are doing in our classroom, as well as our long-term vision as an organization—that “one day, all children will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.” These community leaders, as well as other private individual Teach For America supporters, all make regular visits to our classrooms and help out with classroom projects as needed. For example, my friend who teaches fourth grade enlisted the help of one of our community sponsors to help convert an old balcony at her school into a new learning patio. This community sponsor put her in touch with an architect, as well as other funding sources that will be able to make my friend’s school project a reality. Another friend of mine, who teaches the fifth grade, got her sponsor to help fund a school bus to take her students to the Junior Achievement Biztown in nearby Chesterfield. It is truly remarkable to realize how much schools benefit from such steadfast support of its community members.

As I think more about how much our schools, and the Teach For America organization, rely on the support of local communities, I realize how critical it is that more community members find their way into our classrooms. Much like Teach For America brings a group of predominantly young college graduates into struggling school districts and makes the educational inequalities all the more apparent to us, we need to get more community members into our schools so they too can share in the successes and struggles of their schools. I think it is far too easy for all of us to fall into the trap of thinking that the students in the inner city schools are “someone else’s child,” or that public schools aren’t our problem because our student goes to a private school in the county. The bottom line is that these children, my students, are all of our responsibilities and it is our duty to make sure we support their education as much as possible. Therefore, it is imperative that more community members come into our schools, realize the inequalities that exist, and then become inspired to make the change that so many of our Saint Louis sponsors and leaders are working towards.

In addition to all of this, it is by no means only the community’s responsibility to come into the schools and work to create change. I know all schools can do a better job of opening their doors to the community and facilitating increased involvement, whether that is by advertising school events to the public, or simply by hosting an open house night for everyone to attend—and not just parents and students. I think it would be great to have more programs in Saint Louis like Ready Readers who recruit local community members to go read once a week for a year in area classrooms. This kind of long-term investment is what it will take to cultivate relationships between communities and schools, as well as promote academic performance in some of our lowest performing districts. Given all the community involvement that I have seen already within Teach For America classrooms, as well as other community organizations, I am confident that we will be able to continue fostering such relationships. Our students deserve it, our future demands it.

Saint Louis, MO, December 12, 2008 — A good time was had by nearly 400 guests and more than $50,000 was raised to benefit the St. Vincent Home for Children at the second annual St. Vincent Home for Children Benefit Christmas Party.

The event, which was held Thursday, December 11, at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel was hosted by Missouri-focused philanthropists Rex Sinquefield and his wife, Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield, Travis Brown and Rachel Keller Brown of Pelopidas, LLC, an advocacy management company and Laura Slay, president of Slay & Associates, Inc., a marketing and public relations firm.

Rex Sinquefield has had close ties to the organization since he and his brother Jerry lived at St. Vincent’s in the 1950′s, after their family fell on hard financial times, following the passing of their father. St. Vincent’s, at that time, was a home for orphaned children.

During the evening’s program, Rex spoke of the fond memories of his experiences, “The love, attention and good guidance that we received from the sisters who ran St. Vincent’s and from our basketball coach Ron Holtman, made an indelible and very positive impression on us. Our teachers and coach Holtman, provided us with all the tools that we needed succeed as students, win the 1958 basketball championship and become successful adults.”

Guests at the $50-per-person celebration were greeted with lavender colored Cosmopolitans, feasted on a vast selection of appetizers from Missouri-focused food stations and danced to music by Motown-sound band, Arvell & Company. Special recognition was given to three student residents of St. Vincent’s, now a 24-hour care and treatment center for youth with behavior disorders and other special needs. The students created Christmas-related artwork, which was used in the event invitation and displayed at the event.

Those in attendance included Mayor of the City of Saint. Louis, Francis G. Slay; former Saint Louis Rams football defensive stalwart Pastor Aeneas Williams and his wife, Tracy; KSDK’s Rene Knott and his wife Marla; Kevin Short of Clayton Capital Partners and his wife Patty; Bobby Kersee, Olympic gold-medalist trainer (representing Jackie-Joyner Kersee who was keynote speaker at a track conference in Las Vegas); St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley; John and Alison Ferring; Ellen Harschman, St. Louis University John Cook School of Business; Keith Kirk, Pelopidas; Nancy Rice; Robbyn Wahby of Mayor Slay’s office; John Chickey, board chairman St. Vincent Home for Children; Lee Ann Taylor, executive director of the organization; Larry LeGrand of Plancorp and his wife Dot; Alderman Lyda Krewson; incoming State Representative Tishaura Jones, Show-Me Institute’s executive vice president, Joe Haslag; Vince Mannino of RG Ross and his wife Patty; Jack Naudi, Slay and Associates; Earl Simms, Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri; and Tony Rich, Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

“The holiday season reminds us of how important community charity is to our most vulnerable, especially in challenging economic times. We are honored to host so many advocates that want to give something back,” said Travis Brown.